How to Merge Shipments in Amazon's Send to Amazon Workflow
Amazon’s Send to Amazon workflow now shows a “Merge shipments” button in Step 2 when compatible in‑progress plans share the same fulfillment center and carrier. Sellers can combine pre‑labeled boxes (e.g., 200 boxes of Product A) with new inventory (e.g., 150 boxes of Product B) without re‑labeling, cutting freight pickups and saving up to 12% on shipping costs.
Overview
Amazon’s Send to Amazon workflow now lets sellers combine several qualifying shipment plans into a single, unified shipment during the second step of the process. The merge option appears when the system detects compatible plans, allowing sellers to add new inventory to an existing shipment without re‑labeling boxes that have already been prepared. This capability can streamline operations, cut labeling waste, and reduce the number of individual freight pickups.
Key Points
- Merge option appears in Step 2 — After you finish entering the initial shipping plan details, the system shows a “Merge shipments” button if any in‑progress plans meet the criteria.
- Only compatible plans can be merged — Plans must share the same destination fulfillment center and have matching shipment settings such as carrier and shipping mode.
- Pre‑labeled boxes stay unchanged — Boxes that already have Amazon labels attached keep those labels; the system does not require you to print new ones.
- Additional boxes can be added — Once the merge is confirmed, you may insert new cartons into the combined shipment alongside the already‑labeled ones.
- Label‑printed shipments are eligible — Any workflow that has reached the label‑printing stage and has physical labels on the cartons can be considered for merging.
How Shipment Merging Works
- Create a new shipping plan — You start a fresh Send to Amazon plan, entering product SKUs, quantities, and the target fulfillment center. For example, you might open a plan for 150 units of a new seasonal item destined for the DFN5 center.
- System scans for eligible in‑progress plans — During Step 2, Amazon checks existing workflows that are still open. If it finds a plan already headed to DFN5 with 200 boxes already labeled, the “Merge shipments” prompt appears.
- Select and confirm the merge — Clicking the merge button combines the inventory lists and box configurations of both plans. In the example, the original 200 labeled boxes and the new 150 units are now part of one shipment, and you can add any extra cartons (e.g., 30 boxes of a related accessory) without touching the existing labels.
Analysis & Recommendations
Why This Matters
Merging shipments lets sellers keep existing Amazon labels, avoiding extra printing and labor. By consolidating shipments to a single pallet, carriers often lower rates, with reported freight savings of 12%. The single shipment ID also simplifies carrier communication and tracking.
Key Takeaways
- The “Merge shipments” button appears in Step 2 of the Send to Amazon workflow when plans share destination center and carrier.
- Pre‑labeled boxes remain unchanged; only new cartons need to be added after merge.
- A seller combined 200 boxes (already labeled) with 150 new boxes, reducing freight pickups from two to one.
- One seller reported a 12% reduction in freight expense after merging two 500‑pound shipments into a 1,000‑pound load.
Recommended Actions
- →In Seller Central, go to Manage shipments and look for plans marked “Ready for merge” before creating a new plan.
- →When creating a new Send to Amazon plan, select the same fulfillment center and carrier as any open plan to trigger the merge option.
- →After merging, add new cartons, update quantity fields, and use the single generated shipment ID for carrier communications.
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